Norisring 2013
The was the fifth round of the 2013 DTM Championship, held in the city of Nuremberg.'2013 DTM calendar', gpupdate.net, (JHED Media B.V., 2013), http://www.gpupdate.net/en/calendar/189/2013-dtm-calendar/, (Accessed 26/10/2015) A fan and driver favourite, the fast and narrow nature of the Norisring always promoted exciting racing, and served as the home race of Audi, whom were based in the nearby down of Ingolstadt. Robert Wickens took pole position on Saturday for the first time in his career, but was unable to convert it into a maiden win after a race long battle with .'MATTIAS EKSTRÖM WINS THRILLING NORISRING RACE', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 14/07/2013), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/mattias-ekstr-m-wins-thrilling-norisring-race-2013-07-14.html, (Accessed 16/12/2015) Ekstrom, however, was later stripped of the win after the DMSB declared that he had broken parc fermé rules in celebrating his victory, although, in a unique decision, they opted not to award the win to Wickens, instead declaring there was no winner.'MATTIAS EKSTRÖM LOSES NORISRING VICTORY', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 14/07/2013), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/mattias-ekstr-m-loses-norisring-victory-2013-07-14.html, (Accessed 16/12/2015) Background Ahead of the Norisring meeting the DMSB announced a partnership with both Super GT and IMSA that would bring a unified set of regulations to all three series.'DTM, GRAND-AM AND SUPER GT: IDENTICAL REGULATIONS IN 2017', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 13/07/2013), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/dtm-grand-am-and-super-gt-identical-regulations-2017-2013-07-13.html, (Accessed 16/12/2015) All three were expected to be running under the same set of rules by 2017, although the Super GT and the DTM would start the process in 2014, with IMSA organising a new Championship for the United States. The announcement followed a meeting held in the winter of 2012 between the organisers of the DTM and Super GT. As the future of the DTM was slowly revealed, the Championship stood with Mike Rockenfeller at the head of the field, level on points with Bruno Spengler. Gary Paffett had won Mercedes' first race since the previous visit to the Norisring in the previous round to sit in third, with Christian Vietoris sat in fourth. Five drivers were yet to score at all in 2013, and were all hoping to get on the board before the summer break. The Teams' battle, meanwhile, was beginning to hot up as BMW Team Schnitzer were being drawn back into the pack by HWA Team II. Phoenix Racing also made ground in the previous round, while the second HWA Team sat in fourth. Every team bar BMW Team RMG had scored by this point in the season, as Audi slipped to third in the Brands' Championship. BMW remained well ahead of their rivals, despite only securing six points in the previous round. Entries Below is the entry list for the : Qualifying Another warm day in Germany played host to DTM qualifying on Saturday, with the times from practice suggesting another tight quali session ahead.'ROBERT WICKENS CLAIMS HIS MAIDEN DTM POLE POSITION', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 13/07/2013), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/robert-wickens-claims-his-maiden-dtm-pole-position-2013-07-13.html, (Accessed 16/12/2015) The ever familiar knock out format returned once again, with Q1, Q2 and Q3 seeing six drivers eliminated from qualifying in each session, before the final four had one shot at setting a time good enough for pole. Q1 Straight onto the circuit was Miguel Molina, whose flight from the pitlane signalled the start of the session. Joey Hand set a promising time that was quickly beaten by Robert Wickens, with the times from practice immediately being flattened in the early stages of qualifying. By the halfway mark, Wickens had found a further three tenths to remain ahead of Bruno Spengler, whom had briefly topped the session. Wickens continued to shave time off of his best lap as Q1 came to a close, Edoardo Mortara leaping into second from the relegation zone. The final moments, however, saw a stalemate with times so close that minor mistakes prevented any movement. Martin Tomczyk joined Hand and Dirk Werner from BMW to drop out, alongside Roberto Merhi from Mercedes. Also out were Molina and, surprisingly, Mike Rockenfeller, who struggled to get a perfect lap together in the fifteen minute session. Q2 Pascal Wehrlein was the first man on the circuit for Q2, although his first lap was immediately toppled by Wickens, who himself was beaten by . Spengler then went top, having had Christian Vietoris briefly best his times, as Ekstrom put himself into a spin while trying to extract as much time as possible. Andy Priaulx suddenly launched himself to the top of the times, and remained there when the session came to an end. Out of qualifying went Adrien Tambay, Timo Scheider and Jamie Green for Audi, the latter another surprise given Green's reputation as Mr. Norisring. Also out were Marco Wittmann, Timo Glock and Augusto Farfus, with the five Mercedes that survived Q1 all going through into Q3. Q3 Wehrlein shot onto the circuit first at the start of Q3, although it was Vietoris who set the early pace, swapping times with Spengler at the top of the session. Wickens and Wehrlein were the next to get to the summit of qualifying, before Paffett forced his way into the top four, muscling out Wehrlein. The order then shuffled constantly in the final moments, with Wickens, Spengler, Paffett and Mortara all appearing in the top four in the final seconds to get into the Shootout. Pole Shootout Paffett, as the slowest of the quartet went first and, like every quali session so far in 2013, could not best his times from the earlier sessions. His time was, however, quick enough to beat Mortara, before both were edged out by Wickens, now on for his maiden pole position if Spengler made a mistake. As it happened, Spengler was only just able to best Paffett and Mortara, handing a first ever pole position to his countryman. Post-Qualifying ** Rockenfeller and Molina were hit with ten place grid penalties for a breach of parc fermé rules.'ROCKENFELLER AND MOLINA RELEGATED', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 14/07/2013), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/rockenfeller-and-molina-relegated-2013-07-14.html, (Accessed 16/12/2015) Race Temperatures were on the rise on Sunday, hitting 35 ahead of the race and continuing upwards as the cars set off on their formation lap. With over 126.000 spectators crowded into the Norisring for the race another exciting race was hoped for, with a maiden pole sitter for the second race in succession, and several quick drivers out of position. Report Robert Wickens lit up his car off the line to launch himself into the lead of the race, ahead of Bruno Spengler as yellow flags were thrown at the back of the field. Timo Scheider stalled on the grid, leaving cars to scatter around his stricken Audi RS5 DTM, fortunately with no one managing to hit him. The rest of the field also managed to get through the tight first hairpin without any problems, before the safety car was called so that Scheider's car could be removed. It was only a short period, however, as Scheider managed to drag his car to one side as the field formed up behind the safety car. In the meantime, Gary Paffett was hit with a drive through penalty for jumping the start, with the Brit having to wait until the restart to serve it. Miguel Molina also had to come through the pit lane for jumping the start, as Edoardo Mortara, Christian Vietoris and Dirk Werner all made their first stops. Their early stops signalled the familiar trickle of cars into the pits, as Spengler began to make clear his intentions to pass Wickens for the lead. Jamie Green, meanwhile, was having to defend his excellent start which had seen him leap up to fifth in the early stages, coming under pressure from Marco Wittmann. The German was successful in passing the Brit down the outside of the Grundig Kehre, also opening the door for Augusto Farfus to try to get past. Green just managed to hold on, rubbing against the Brazilian on the exit of the hairpin, although he remained under pressure from behind. As Spengler tried another unsuccessful attack on Wickens Green was forced to surrender sixth and seventh to Farfus and Roberto Merhi after locking up into the Grundig. Martin Tomczyk was the next man to try to get by Green, running side-by-side with the Brit into the Grundig, before trying to run down the outside of the Brit through the hairpin. It was not the best move to be made by the German, as he ran into the wall on the exit of the hairpin, smashing his suspension and leaving him out of the race. With the safety car emerging for a second time the majority of the field, including the leaders, although, as the pit chaos settled, Mortara was left in the lead of the race, ahead of Wickens. By lap 20 the safety car was back into the pits, allowing to pounce on Spengler, before proceeding to take Wickens for second. Timo Glock, meanwhile, was on the warpath, claiming Filipe Albuquerque and team mate Wittmann in short order to climb into the top ten. Merhi was battling with Andy Priaulx for sixth, although his attempts were being hampered by frequent lock ups into the hairpins. As they battled the slow trickle into the pits continued as the laps counted down, while Wittmann was placed under investigation for a suspected unsafe release. The next man on the rise was Mike Rockenfeller, who claimed eighth place from Glock and seventh from Priaulx in short order, the latter move also allowing Paffett to move up as well. Glock, meanwhile, tangled with Daniel Juncadella out of the second hairpin, although both escaped with minor damage. Wickens and Spengler had stopped within a lap of each other as the race entered its final third, and were now working through the field to catch Ekstrom, who was now on the back of Mortara for the lead. Shortly after Merhi fell to Wickens, Ekstrom forced Mortara into a mistake at the Grundig, putting himself into the lead of the race, with both still needing to complete their second stops. Pascal Wehrlein, meanwhile, made his fourth visit to the pits to retire on lap 65, with Green following him in to retire his damaged Audi. The closing stages of the race saw Ekstrom and Mortara pit, the Swede coming out ahead of Paffett with the Italian slipping behind the Brit. Wickens meanwhile, had dropped his Spengler tail, and was now closing on Mortara, who immediately launched an attack on Paffett with three laps to go. Unfortunately for the Italian, he misjudged the braking into the Grundig hairpin and tapped the back of the Brit, forcing the Mercedes wide. Wickens and Vietoris took advantage to get onto the podium, with Mortara just managing to get by Paffett too as he rejoined. Paffett took revenge on Mortara during the penultimate lap, slamming the door on Mortara and causing them to collide. Both were out with heavy damage, also causing the final lap of the race to be run under yellow flags. Ekstrom therefore won the race ahead of Wickens and Vietoris, although there was one final twist to the tale. The Swede was celebrating his 35th birthday, and as he celebrated in had water sprayed across his racesuit by a member of his team. That was deemed a breech of conditions, meaning that Ekstrom was excluded from the result, not disqualified, a significant phrasing by the DMSB. By excluding Ekstrom the DMSB declared that no one had won the race, with Wickens opting not to challenge their decision, despite the potential for him to get his first DTM victory. Results The final result is displayed below: ** Ekstrom excluded from the result for a parc fermé infringement after the race. Milestones *This was the only race in DTM history not have a winner declared. Standings Mike Rockenfeller pulled two points clear of Bruno Spengler at the top of the DTM Championship, as Christian Vietoris climbed into third, twelve points behind. Gary Paffett and Robert Wickens completed the top five, as Augusto Farfus continued to slide down the order despite the pace he had shown throughout the first half of the year. Andy Priaulx, meanwhile, became the latest man to add his name to the point scoring board, although he remained near the foot of the table. Significant changes occurred in the Teams' Championship, as HWA Team II managed to secure top spot from BMW Team Schnitzer. Phoenix Racing remained in third but lost ground to the leaders, while at the bottom of the table, BMW Team RMG finally secured some points. BMW continued to slip into the grips of Mercedes in the Brands' Championship, with Audi falling 66 points behind their rivals after Ekstrom's disqualification. Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown. References Videos and Images: * References: Category:Norisring Category:Races Category:2013 Races